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Cal Move-In and Move-Out

Moving In This Fall?

Avoid fines for illegally dumping and plan ahead to recycle, reuse, sell your stuff and keep your unwanted items out of the waste stream! Check out the information below about Cal Move In and resources available to you and your roommates.

Cal Move-In: Don’t Trash Your New Neighborhood!

Moving into a new home is an exciting time — you’ve got a new place to settle into, new neighbors to get to know, and new spots to put your stuff. Before you get too busy getting to class, take advantage of local resources designed to help you move in – and properly dispose of your trash, recycling, compostables, and other unwanted items. Cal Housing provides tips and resources for those moving into a Cal Residence Hall, or other Cal housing options, and can assist you with local rental options. Resources like Reuse, Recycling, and Disposal Services, Craigslist and even Facebook Marketplace can help you keep items out of landfills and off the street in front of your new home.

Keep reading to learn how to avoid fines for illegal dumping -- and use the following quick links and information about local resources to make your move easier and more sustainable.

AVOID FINES FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING!

Putting unwanted furniture on the sidewalk or in the public right of way is illegal dumping, with fines starting at $500. And overflowing bins can also result in citations and fines. In fact, violators can be imprisoned and fined up to $1000 a day. This year, at the urging of residents and elected officials, City teams are preparing to cite violators more quickly than ever before!

About the Cal Move-Out program

The Cal Move-Out program, developed by the Chancellor's Advisory Council on Student-Neighbor Relations in 2007, brings together the resources of the University of California, Berkeley and the City of Berkeley in an effort to decrease the environmental and social impacts of illegal dumping in near-campus neighborhoods at the end of the academic semester.

Students often do not have the means or are unsure of how to properly dispose of unwanted items like mattresses, couches, and small appliances, etc. Unfortunately, many of these items are left curbside, an environmentally harmful practice that we have been trying to eliminate by educating students and providing specialized services.

The program itself combines outreach to students and property owners about responsible disposal and reuse strategies as well as the deployment of large debris bins in the student-dense neighborhoods near campus.

Reuse, Recycling and Disposal Services

The ReUSE Online Exchange: The concept of finding and disposing of materials through an online medium is not new. People sell and/or barter anything - from old house paint to broken strollers and gently used bicycles - and these communities of exchange are particularly popular in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, many of these websites leave students, without cars, out of luck. By establishing a focused community of givers and takers within a specific geographical region, the UC Berkeley campus, and the Online Materials Exchange facilitate direct encounters between campus affiliates -- students, staff, and faculty. In the fall, ReUse holds a Reader Giveaway and Clothing Sale to redistribute materials they collected to the campus community. They also donate clothing and school supplies to local charities.

City of Berkeley Recycling Services Did you know that Berkeley now accepts all plastic containers? Community-wide interest in recycling has brought us closer to the City’s goal of diverting 75% of all refuse away from landfills. Click here to learn more about the wide range of recycling services and operation of the City's Transfer Station which receives materials that can be recycled, reused and composted.

DR3: Divert, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Through a partnership with local landfills, garbage haulers and transfer stations, DR3 will take your old mattress and deconstruct it by hand. Using this method, 85-90% of a typical mattress can be recycled. Your mattress helps DR3 conserve landfill space, protect the environment, and provide jobs in the community. Click here to learn more about their services. You can drop off your mattress at the Berkeley Transfer Station, (1201 2nd Street, 510-981-7270), and DR3 will pick it up to recyle it.

The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse The mission of the East Bay Depot is to divert waste materials from landfills by collecting and redistributing discarded goods as low-cost supplies for art, education, and social services in our Depot Store. If you want to drop off art supplies, school and office supplies, vintage anything, and more, the Depot Store has a limited amount of storage space. CCall ahead at 510.547.6470 for pre-approval. Click here to learn more about donating your stuff. Donation Hours: 11am-5pm 7 days a week; Store Hours: 11am-6pm 7 days a week.

Donate your bike!

BicyCal is UC Berkeley’s student-run, volunteer, hands-on bicycle repair and maintenance facility. They offer guidance and assistance with all matters bicycle. Their mission is to empower UCB students, faculty, and staff to successfully integrate the bicycle into their daily lives. Their primary service is opening up their facility to the public several times per week for “open shop”, when anyone can borrow tools and receive guidance for virtually any bicycle repair. They accept bikes, bike tools, parts and frames in any state. Download their flyer to learn more and visit their blog to learn about updated schedules.

Waterside Workshops uses vocational education as a method of promoting youth development, encouraging sustainable and healthy lifestyles, and cultivating positive change in the Bay Area community. One of their programs, Street Level Cycles, is a full-service community bicycle shop that combines a do-it-yourself studio with a youth education program, creating a space where members of the community can learn to fix their bicycles while supporting local vocational training. Learn more about making bike donation – Street Level Cycles accepts stripped bike, bike parts, and any level of used bikes.

E-Waste

GreenCitizen has a number of drop off locations in the Bay Area and can accept any working or non-working electronic items, appliance, or portable devices that use electricity. The Berkeley recycling center is located at 1971 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94704 click here to find other drop-off locations. GreenCitizen does not ship items overseas and all items collected are recycled within 150 miles of San Francisco. GreenCitizen offers a business pickup service to offices and buildings in the Bay Area. Pickup is free of charge if you have 10 or more qualifying items, which include laptops, desktops, servers, TVs and smartphones. If you have less than 10 qualifying items the pickup is $100. To schedule a pickup, you can fill out the form on their website. Download their informational flyer to learn more.

Other Resources

StopWaste.org offers a wide range of waste prevention and recycling services to the residents of Alameda County to reduce waste and save money. StopWaste.Org takes furniture, medical sharps, batteries and CFL light bulbs. Resources include a database that is searchable by household item (including e-waste), a list of what you shouldn't send to the land fill, a recycling wizard to help you figure out when and where you recycle in Alameda County and a tip-filled page dedicated to apartment dwellers.

The Ecology Centeris a 43-year-old nonprofit organization, located in Berkeley, California, that focuses on the environmental impacts of urban residents. They address issues through educating, creating community momentum, building infrastructure to make change easy, and spreading positive solutions through convening and advocacy. Core issues include waste and consumerism, food and farming, climate change prevention and resiliency, and sustainable living